Our Funders Make a Difference: The Impact of Scholarships

Health Resources and Services Administration Grant

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has provided transformational support for workforce development initiatives at WJC, with over $7.6M in grant funding for scholarships and other workforce programs. The HRSA-funded Specialized Training and Academic Retention (STAR) Fellowship program aims to diversify the behavioral health workforce by retaining students who are from economically/educationally/environmentally disadvantaged backgrounds and equipping them with the education, skills, and training to provide culturally responsive services in primary care settings and medically underserved communities.

Barrington Latham

• Specialized Training and Academic Retention (STAR) Fellow
• Clinical Psychology Doctoral Candidate
• Counselor
• Mentor

“I grew up in public housing in Brighton. I'm from this city, I was raised by this city, and this city made me into who I am today. I’m a product of my community and a reflection of what investing in underserved populations can lead to. My passion for working with historically marginalized communities is a way of giving back to where I come from and to honor the people who’ve raised me.

During my training, I worked directly with underserved populations and met with patients of color who never considered mental health services and changed their mind once they saw me. One patient’s mother said to me ‘I was going to cut my son’s hair locs off because it would be deemed unprofessional, but after seeing you in this position I understand we don’t have to do that.’ That’s confirmation that I am right where I’m supposed to be. The STAR Fellowship program has supported my professional aspirations through financial and peer support, mentorship, and professional development. Not only did it help me get my foot in the door, but it also helped me walk confidently in these professional spaces.”

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Hearst Foundations Grant

William James College's most prestigious and generous award, the Serving the Mental Health Needs of the Underserved Scholarship, is funded by private donors and by the William Randolph Hearst Scholarship Grant. This need-based scholarship provides two-thirds tuition, mentorship, clinical field training, and a broad range of learning opportunities to Scholarship recipients, who also become CMGMH Fellows. These Fellows are committed to providing high quality behavioral health care and advocacy for persistently underserved groups.

Edsel Cadet

• CMGMH Fellow
• Clinical Psychology Doctoral Candidate
• Clinical Mental Health Counseling Graduate
• Clinical Mental Health Counselor
• Pastor of Historic Black Church
• Author

“Students need four things to be in a program: they need time to do the work, they need the bandwidth to be able to do the work, they need the passion to keep going, and they need the financial resources to be able to attend school. There are a lot of people who have the bandwidth and the passion. What they’re missing is time and resources. What a scholarship does is provide the financial resources, which makes more time—because you don’t have to work an extra job. It becomes something powerful when that passion and that bandwidth is still there and now it gets channeled into your clients and your community. This is what the CMGMH Fellowship has done for me. It has removed barriers and given me the bandwidth to pursue a passion for leadership, a passion for clinical work, and a passion for spirituality.

I pastored for eight years without clinical training helping many people, but I faced challenges that were beyond the scope of my training. Members of African American and religious communities can hold a stigma towards therapy. And sometimes in those communities, people often trust clergy more than they trust therapists, and I saw an opportunity to return to school and support my community—to show them from a theological perspective why therapy works. Without the scholarship I wouldn’t have the time or resources to be in the program, and I wouldn’t be able to impact my community in the way that I am now.”

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Mass General Brigham Grant 

Mass General Brigham (MGB) awarded $3M to William James College in May of 2021 to advance workforce development initiatives. Now in its second year, this grant award includes funding for scholarships to alumni of the Behavioral Health Service CorpsSM—a paid, year-long service and learning opportunity for college graduates—who enroll in a graduate training program at WJC. These scholarships are intended to recruit, train, mentor, and retain providers from culturally diverse backgrounds who are committed to serving individuals, families, and groups from historically excluded backgrounds.

Evelyn Monks

• Mass General Brigham Scholarship Awardee
• BHSC graduate
• Clinical Psychology Doctoral Candidate

“I graduated from college during the pandemic and was thrilled to be accepted into the Behavioral Health Service Corps (BHSC); it offered graduate school credits, clinical experience, and a paid position. From the outset, the program ensured that students had all the guidance we needed through weekly supervision, support from administration, and regular mentorship. For my practicum, I worked at Walden Behavioral Care where I gained a deeper understanding of eating disorders—and clarity about what I wanted to do next.

I fell in love with the work I was doing at Walden, and realized I wanted to continue on my path in the mental health field to better support clients who are struggling. My doctoral project is based on my experiences working at Walden, and I will be researching trans folks’ experiences of eating disorders. I feel confident that my experiences demonstrate a level of competence working in the mental health field and am grateful to have received an MGB scholarship that has made pursuing my dream of working with people as a clinical psychologist a reality.”

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